The Why
Through March, spring time, a time of renewal and growth, we’ll be exploring the WHY of yoga. What draws us to practice, why do our members come to group classes several times a week to move their bodies in unusual ways, breath in strange patterns and lay in silence in for ten minutes at the end?
Who better to start the discussion off than our very own Diana Brook? Founder and owner of Diana Brook: Yoga With Soul, busy working mum, yoga teacher, Reiki Master, aromatherapist, light-therapist and natural healer, Diana has integrated yoga into her life as a way of ensuring that her lifestyle dictates her circumstances – not the other way around.
Diana says:
“Like the rest of us, I’m a busy working parent and – just like the rest of us also – I’ve had some challenges in my life. This is pretty much unavoidable, as it’s all part of living in the modern world. I’ve had to deal with the emotional ups and downs of bouncing back from a divorce, raising my two boys, and then walking away from another relationship that came with the trappings of a millionaire lifestyle.
It’s not been easy at times, but I’ve found that cultivating a positive lifestyle and making the best decisions that I can in the moment have been key to driving my own happiness and fulfilment and that of my family’s.
The physical system of yoga that I practice is called Hatha Yoga, which comes from the Sanskrit meaning “force” or “exertion”. This relates to the physical poses, sequences and then breath-work that act as precursors to meditation. Simply put, working with the body in a physical way (moving, stretching, engaging, releasing) as to bring about a change in us.
Over time I’ve found that yoga nourishes my mind, my body and my soul. Yoga allows me to completely surrender to my own sense of self – becoming mindful of my breath, how my body feels, my movement and how busy my mind can be. It has supported me through some great times, as well as some really challenging ones.
Either way, my yoga practice has been there – whether I feel I need it or I don’t. It is a little slice of retreat, or “home”, that I get to step into. Yoga is more than some of the physical postures linked in a sequence. For me, it’s a way of life, a discipline and a commitment – a sacred space where I can explore self-awareness and self-acceptance.
After discovering yoga in my early twenties, I knew that I had discovered a lifelong relationship, both with the practice and with myself. After training to teach so that I could share the beautiful traditions and practices that had been handed to me by my teachers, I knew that one day I wanted to open a space to share this with the world.
This is how Diana Brook: Yoga With Soul was born! I’ve worked as hard as I can to create a real sense of community, in a studio that is geared towards holding space for a community of teachers, students and practitioners to discover the practice of yoga, more about themselves and their connection to each other and the world.
With my team of teachers, I aspire to bring together anyone who is searching for clarity, strength, balance and self-awareness. To not only experience the body by its function and structure, but also as energy, working with the body’s subtle energies to align breath with prana, heart with mind, and body with soul.”
